The Limits of Air Power: The American Bombing of North Vietnam

Asymmetric is the current buzzword used to describe a type of warfare
that has been with us much longer than the newfangled term. In
its purest sense, asymmetric warfare is about ends, ways, or means—
fighting for ends that do not match an opponent's objectives, fighting in
ways that differ from an opponents approach to war, or fighting with
means different from an opponents resources. In the Quadrennial Defense Review Report of 2001, however, the term most often describes a
weaker powers use of an unanticipated means of striking at the vulnerability of a stronger power—in this case, the United States.1 Any type of
military force can be applied asymmetrically, including air power, as al
Qaedas terrorists demonstrated in devastating fashion on 11 September
2001. Yet, how might air power best be used against an asymmetric foe?
The answer is not so different from the response to the fundamental
question regarding any application of air power against any enemy—that
is, how can it be used as an effective instrument of war?

Gauging air powers effectiveness is not an easy task. One reason for
that difficulty is that no universal agreement exists on die meaning of effectiveness. Clausewitz offers perhaps the best means of measurement—
how much does the military instrument help towards achieving the ultimate aim of winning the war? The author of On War equates "winning"
to achieving the nation s political objectives, and that criterion guides the
following framework for evaluating air powers effectiveness.2 Like all
true frameworks, though, this one does not provide a set of standard
answers. Nor does it predict the future or offer a universal guide for
success or failure. Instead, it offers a consistent approach for determining
the value of air power in any circumstance. This approach includes a
distinctive terminology that categorizes various air power applications,
and those categories are used in ascertaining how effectively an application supports a political goal. Yet, determining air powers political
effectiveness is not a straightforward proposition because political goals
are not always straightforward. As the discussion of the framework makes

Notes for this page

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.comPublication information:
Book title: The Limits of Air Power: The American Bombing of North Vietnam.
Contributors: Mark Clodfelter - Author.
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press.
Place of publication: Lincoln, NE.
Publication year: 2006.
Page number: 211.

This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may
not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.

If you are trying to select text to create highlights or citations, remember that you must now click or tap on the first word, and then click or tap on the last word.

Print this page

While we understand printed pages are helpful to our users, this limitation is necessary
to help protect our publishers' copyrighted material and prevent its unlawful distribution.
We are sorry for any inconvenience.